I would not be surprised if Grier, who has been UF-bound for awhile, was asked to announce early by the coaches. He wasn’t scheduled to make his decision until January, but he moved it up a month just one day after Robinson’s decommitment.

With Grier on board and the hiring of new receivers coach Joker Phillips, recruiting elite wideouts should be much easier down the road. I don’t expect them to have much of an affect in this recruiting cycle. UF wants just one more prospect at the position and only a few targets remain.

However, Grier will be a huge attraction for years to come. This sends a strong message to receivers that Florida is committed to the passing game and has talent at quarterback to make it flourish in the future.

On to the questions!

Any word on RB Alex Collins? — Georgia GATORBOI

Collins has not answered my calls or texts, but all indications are that he had a great official visit to UF over the weekend. Florida running back Adam Lane told me the coaches put together a fun trip for the two of them, and he thinks Collins has the Gators leading.

If the time to sign was today, I believe Collins would ink with UF based on what I’m hearing. But it’s unclear whether Florida will have room for a third running back, and he also has an official to Miami on Jan. 18.

Never count out the hometown Hurricanes when they have the last visit, as we saw last year with Tracy Howard. However, it looks like the Gators have the advantage right now for the South Plantation prospect.

The most likely option right now is Durham Smythe out of Belton, Texas, who decommitted from the Longhorns on Dec. 12. Stanford is believed to be the new front-runner, but UF tight ends coach Derek Lewis had an in-home visit with him last Thursday and Florida is hoping to get one of his five officials.

It will take him coming to Gainesville to really gauge his interest in the Gators, but they are clearly interested in him. And for those who asked, I’m told former Miami commit Travis Johnson (Tampa Jesuit) and former Alabama commit Josh McNeil (New Berlin, N.Y./Milford Academy) don’t have the grades to get into UF.

Is CB Mackenzie Alexander set to visit UF? And where do we stand? — Matthew, Tamayo

Yes, the five-star corner from Immokalee will take an unofficial visit to Florida sometime in January. A source of mine knows one of his coaches, and he said things have heated up recently with Alexander and the Gators. He’s been speaking a lot with Will Muschamp and Travais Robinson, and the prospect of playing in-state is starting to appeal to him.

Muschamp is telling Alexander that he could make an immediate impact in the return game and compete at corner right away with Loucheiz Purifoy playing more offense next year. There’s still a lot of time and other visits left in his recruitment, but right now I think UF has a better shot with Alexander than it does with USC commit Jalen Ramsey.

Are you ready to give us a mock class yet? — Ro

Only because the world is supposed to end tomorrow. Everyone keep in mind that this is a mock class, NOT my predictions. It’s just an idea of how Florida might finish if today were National Signing Day.

With the fallout from Collins’ visit, I’m pretty confident putting him in at this time. I think the Gators will land Elijah Daniel at defensive end, which is the only position that must add another prospect.

I’m still not sure how the receiver position will play out, but UF is going to take a fifth wideout one way or another. If Robinson doesn’t return to the class, I expect James Clark to get offered and commit soon (or immediately) after.

I’m not going to put Alexander in my mock just yet, but he’s definitely trending upward for the Gators.

Even with the guys me missed on this is an amazing class. It appears more and more that these guys are a solid unit and they communicate frequently, so they should be a pretty close knit TEAM. That is a POWERFUL thing when you are talking about TEAM sports. I know we can’t get them all, but the ones we have (or think we have) is a great bunch and the ones we miss, well that again is their choice and something they will deal with, good luck to them BUT I hope we are so awesome that they regret their decision if only a little bit. GO GATORS!!!!

I know everyone’s tongue in cheek, but I feel that the pot-shots at the Mayans are unwarranted. We’re the ones who have misrepresented and misunderstood. They never predicted the end of the world; in fact, the opposite:

“The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this. We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It’s an entirely different mindset,” Saturno said.

This is the start of the Gator National Championship run for many years! This feels like the start of the Spurrier era all over again…We jump start to 11-1 this year preceeded by a Bowl win over Ohio state which means that when we win the Sugar bowl we are on a 13-1 run this past 12 months! Add the maturity of the QB and the depth of the O and D, and a coaching staff that stayed in place means we are here for a long time!!! We need stability and if that happens we are looking at a very ver long Gator run!!!!!
Go Gators.

hey John do you think the mayans predicition of the world ending sometime today could help me get laid when I go out tonite….. whats a good pick up line. Hey baby the world is about to end….lets get it on in the alley since there is not time to get back to my place…..its nights like tonite that bucket seats and car hoods were meant for….. GO GATORS!!!!

Zach,
What about Alex Montgomery as a 5th wide receiver for this class…in the run to the state championship for Cypress Bay this kid put up phenomenal numbers each game and catches everything…he was hurt part of the year and plays offense and defense?

@ Tampa Gator,
Let me get this straight, is Walker the LB from Sandalwood or is this the receiver that just decommitted from Florida last week? Because if this is the Kid from Sandalwood , I thought he was already committed to Bama. And if its the kid that decommitted last week because he didn’t like the fact we had 4 other receivers on board(competition) and he’s going to Bama. If so there will not be any competition at BAMA? Help me out Tampa, I’m missing something!!

Lets see…A sugar bowl win with a 12-1 record….A record recruiting class…Hope for a great season ending sugar bowl showing…PS we are the only bowl that day…Full time National Audience….
This is a Gator program really on a fast track!!!!!
Go Gators.

with Demarcus Robinson flip-flopping back to Clemson, and it being unlikely that Florida will get Treadwell or North to commit at receiver, what are the chances the Gators turn up the heat on Stacy Coley or James Clark?

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If Zach Abolverdi had a dollar for every time his last name was mispronounced … you just made him richer. Born in Orlando but raised in Gainesville since 1990, he grew up around Florida football during the Steve Spurrier era. He once threw a perfect spiral under Spurrier’s watchful eye at his summer camp. The Head Ball Coach told him, “That’s a nice throw for a little man, but hold that ball by your ear.” The 8-year-old gunslinger replied, “I already know how to throw a football.” He didn’t appreciate the little man comment either. Zach is a Hearst Award winner and graduate of the University of Florida. He enjoys spending time with family, Denzel Washington movies and only about a dozen music artists, most of whom go by their real name. College football, the NFL, March Madness and LeBron James provide his sports fix.